Iraq and India have signed an accord to cooperate in the electricity sector, the head of Iraq Electricity Authority said on his return Tuesday, December 11 from a visit to New Delhi.

"A memorandum of cooperation in the electricity sector was signed during my visit to India," said Sahban Faisal Mahjoub, quoted by the official INA news agency. Mahjoub said his talks in New Delhi covered the possible participation of Indian firms in rehabilitating Iraqi power stations and in training Iraqi technicians.

Before leaving for New Delhi on November 24, Mahjoub said Iraq had already concluded "103 contracts in the electricity sector" with India. Iraq's electricity installations were battered in the 1991 Gulf War over Kuwait and repair work has been hampered by a lack of spare parts due to the UN sanctions in force since the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Electricity is cut four hours a day in Baghdad and three times as long in the provinces. Iraq can import spare parts for the electricity sector under a UN oil-for-food program which allows Baghdad to export crude to buy food, medicine and other essential goods. Baghdad accuses US and British representatives on the UN sanctions committee, which has to approve Iraq's foreign contracts, of using fake pretexts to block its imports. — (AFP, Baghdad)